OU credit transfer and syllabus

MrsManda

Has anyone transferred credits from a brick university to the OU towards a named degree?

I've finally admitted defeat and withdrawn from my university course but don't want to lose all the work I have done. I have spoken to the OU credit transfer people who've said that I need to provide a transcript plus the syllabus for each module I want to transfer in order to put them towards a named degree. If I cannot provide the syllabus I can put the modules towards an Open degree.

I have requested a transcript from my university but don't know how to prove the syllabus for each module. The person at the OU couldn't give me the answer so I wondered if anyone here could help.

I have sent an email to the OU Credit Transfer department with a .pdf Aims & Objectives document downloaded from my university's website to see if that's acceptable and I am awaiting a reply.

If anyone has any experience or knowledge of this I'd be grateful if you could share. I just want to get it sorted as quickly as possible so I have less time to wibble about the decision to quit

looking-up_2

Hi there,
I have gone through the credit transfer process. They gave me 180 OU points for my completed 3 year degree from a B and M university. My old degree and the new degree were in different subjects but this didn't matter. Its just to prove that you are capable of studying at that level. The points can be used to get up to the number you need for your OU degree. It was some time ago for me - but I think you need 360. So I needed to take another 3 x 60 point courses to get my OU degree. I'm not sure they will give you much for any part-years but you can but ask.

There was no grade attached to the points so your final degree grade will depend on the courses you take actually with the OU. Also, if you want a specific named subject degree, you will find that you have to take a core group of courses to ensure you have studied enough of the relevant material. I think with mine, there were 4 mandatory courses so I needed to do an extra course. Note that this might be different for you - if you are going to study the same subject as you did in the B & M uni, you may be able to get the need to take some of the core courses waived. This might be why they want details of the syllabus.

On a slightly different note, be wary of doing more than one course a year, until you've tried one...especially if you are going to work at the same time. I managed a 60 point course ok (although hard work) and thought I'd try 2 x 30 points courses and it was a killer. A 30 point course is only slightly less work at level 2 and 3, than a 60 point. Plus timing wise I had 2 assignments due every month, instead of just the one.

Having experienced both conventional Uni and the OU, I would say that the OU is much harder and without the up-side of normal Uni (the social side and support of tutors and other students). You need to be VERY self-motivated. You will have very little contact with other students and (I've found) the tutors on the whole pretty poor compared to normal lecturers and gave very little support. They often have day jobs and I found it was hard to contact them/get their attention. If you choose an unusual subject, you may need to travel some miles to get to a tutorial which are only every 4-8 weeks (dependent on course).

That said, I loved my OU studies and instead of the 3-4 courses I needed to take, I ended up addicted and took most of the Social science ones.

One last tip - get into a routine and try to stay at least a week (pref more) ahead with your studies as a buffer. Its so easy to make excuses not to study during the summer or after a heavy day at work. Things crop up at work or your home life and you don't want to end up pulling too many all-nighters or driving to your tutor's house at 5 minutes to midnight to hit a deadline (been there, done that!).

Best of luck

MrsManda

Thanks for your reply.
Don't worry, I won't be rushing in to anything.
I took a year off from my B&M due to severe illness. I am improving but I am still really unwell and due to the intense natural of my degree I don't think I'll be able to pick it up again after another year off. So I took the decision to withdraw

My aim in transferring credits to the OU is to avoid losing all the hardwork from my B&M. I was doing a science degree and would like to transfer my credits towards a Natural Sciences or Life Sciences degree. The OU advisor said this should be possible given the type of study I've done but I need to provide evidence of the syllabus and she couldn't say what evidence they'd accept. Hence my question

Once I've transferred credits and worked out what I can do then I'll be able take baby steps towards graduating (something I've been aiming for since 2003 ). Being able to study when I am feeling up to it rather than doing multiple courses at a time, travelling every day and attending classes at set times, should help me alot

It'd be great to be able to continue a science degree with modules I've already done but I need to provide syllabuses in order to do that.

MrsManda

I printed the module outline from my B&M university's website for each of the subjects I completed and sent those with my credit transfer application.

Today (6 weeks after the OU received my application) I have received confirmation that they've accepted the transfer of all the credits from my previous study and have applied them to the Natural Science BSc (hons) with a number of module exemptions.

I'm really happy, it means that though I won't be getting the degree I wanted, I haven't lost any of the work I've already completed and will get a named science degree when I graduate

The module exemptions also mean that I don't have any compulsory courses or residential schools to do so I can choose what I want to study with (almost) free rein

I just wanted to update and let you know that credit transfer is worth considering if for some reason you can not complete your studies elsewhere.

looking-up_2

That's great news - well done.

Fridayschild

Hi,
I started my degree with the OU then went off and did a 60 point module with a red brick, and transferred the points. It was pretty straightforward, although it is worth noting that they can only be transferred as points at a certain level. If you have passed the module for example, with distinction that is not recognised by the OU.
I found both red brick and OU equally demanding, but in different ways, and it is fair to say that you need to be very self motivated if you study with the OU. I have found the majority of the tutors to be very very good, but they vary, just as they do at the red brick universities.
Good luck.